Spades Neil
Spades is the charismatic, intelligent, and honorable leader of Titans North, who works in the city of Boston, Massachusetts in a recently renovated version of the John Hancock Tower. Despite his appearance, he is almost the polar opposite of his alleged sister Raven, as he is loud, talkative, outgoing, and willing to share his thoughts and feelings whenever necessary. His leadership skills come natural to him. Unlike Raven however, he believes himself more human than demon. Beside some powers obtained through a literal deal with the devil, his only natural abilities are aerokinesis and pyrokinesis. In addition, his powers, and although they are affected by emotion just as Raven's are, he believes his powers work best when he lets his strongest emotions run free. His powers are enhanced by his emotions, rather than controlled by them. Personality Spades is a self-proclaimed Teen Titan, but this is under the initial belief that the Teen Titans he once knew and grew up admiring had faded into history. None the less, the title is well deserved. With his charisma and leadership, he has pulled strings and formed a new team he calls Titans North, dedicated to continuing the work that the original Titans had done. His appearance is similar to Raven, but he certainly doesn't act like it. The dark blue cape and black clothes; he claims to be calming and good looking, and the reason for wearing them, and he had been wearing such clothing even before he had met Raven. Even the gem on his forehead (which is removable) serves a purpose, to magnify his "Third Eye" ability which is a point on the forehead where he can detect energy and auras as if he were seeing them (though he has no actual eye on his forehead, just the gem). Despite his dark appearance and beliefs, and his possibly even villainous deeds, nothing he has done has ever been out of ill-intent. He is considered to be an Anti-hero. He has gotten into verbal fights with Robin on several occasions, one such example when Spades actually negotiated Control Freak into stepping down from a fight. Spades not only refused to attack him, but when Control Freak stood down, Spades even debated it to the police and allowed Control Freak to go free! Control Freak and Spades later became friends, and Spades feels he can change Control Freak's ways, putting him down a better path in life. However, Spades and Robin have never been very friendly as a result of such events, although he gets along fine with the others members of the Titans team. Spades is a great leader, but also a wise negotiator. With his charisma, he's often giving advice to his friends, and even preferring to stop and wait to see what a supposed villain's intentions are before starting a fight. Although more often, their intents are indeed criminal, there have been a couple situations, such as with Control Freak, where he has convinced the enemy to stop fighting. However, Spades doesn't view himself as one of the most powerful Titans either. While he has some powers, his Aerokinesis and Pyrokinesis were considered useless for the longest time. Recently though, he literally made a deal with the devil, and now actually controls the Inferno that we all know as Hell. He obtained several powers from inheriting the Infernal Throne, and becoming the new King of Hell. The original owner, a man known as Samuel (who is really Lucifer Morningstar) is the one who offered the deal. Spades just had to eliminate the current ruler, who was a cowardly demon named Azazel. Really, Spades just chased him into a corner, and Lucifer finished him off, but Lucifer decided to give the control of Hell to Spades rather than keep it for himself. Note: This Hell is not to be confused with Trigon's fiery underworld. There are supposedly numerous versions of the underworld controlled by beings relating to various figures in religion and mythology, including (but not limited to) Greek Mythology's Hades and Ancient Egyptian Anubis. The reason for Lucifer's choice is because he had grown tired of his duties, and wanted to live a free life on Earth under the guise of a handsome male mortal. Lucifer currently owns a bar somewhere in Steel City. Until he had gotten his new powers however, Spades hadn't felt himself very useful in a fight. He could command a battle, but for a long time, he could not take part in it. Since gaining his new powers though, and with attempts to learn more (even attempting a few powers that Raven uses), he has begun to experiment with his old powers as well. Spades is an easy person to talk to, though the tough part is getting him to be quiet. He's at least conscious of this flaw of his though, so if he's asked to be quiet, he usually won't be offended. He's a very patient person, and has a very long temper. However, that long fuse may as well be the ignition to a nuclear warhead, because when someone does break his patience, he's especially known for his extreme cruelty and even demonic retaliation. His character is very enigmatic. For example, while Spades is quite outgoing and gives off the vibe of a normal teenager, the way he speaks and thinks shows a level of much higher sense of wisdom and maturity than most people his age. He often spends his free time in his room, on his computer, writing stories and philosophies about life. His mind does not reflect that of a normal teenager. In his younger days, he was bullied because of his different perspective on the world. Consequently, because other children didn't understand him, they hated (or more likely feared) him because he was different. Not because he was scary, but just because he thought differently. Years of bullying also caused some psychological problems for Spades such as depression, but he finds relief in his writings and his quotes. A favorite of his for troubling times is a proverb stating, "No matter how long the night, dawn will break." History Before Titans North Jeremy was born at a town in Massachusetts, born into an average family with regular lives. However, something about him was far from the norm. On the very day of his birth, a family friend, a female psychic, who knew nothing of his birth, actually called Jeremy's grandmother mere minutes after he came into the world and immediately spoke of a "great power" suddenly entering the world. Not long after, Jeremy was deemed an Indigo Child by that same woman. Unfortunately, this woman has since faded into the shadows of history. Jeremy cannot remember having ever met her, but his family had told him about her on several occasions, especially his grandmother. When Spades was a young child, he started to notice he was unique. He knew he was smarter than other boys, and unfortunately flaunted it on occasion without realizing it. This was the start of a long and painful lifetime of bullying and harassment from his peers. As a result, he grew up with a deep hatred of anyone who picks on others because they are different or weak. Spades also suffered some psychological problems such as depression because of this past, but it serendipitously gave him a new view on the world, a world that could use improvement. While it would never be perfect, he figured he could at least try and make it a little bit better. He event went so far as to join the Teen Titans on a visit to California. When he grew older, he met a girl named Leyla, who was a hero (or at the time, just a freak by her perspective) who people called Beast Girl. At the time, Jeremy was working for Slade to hunt down people who were supposedly 'diseased' and needed to be 'euthanized' apparently. Meeting Leyla though, he realized how deluded Slade really was, and quickly turned against him. After helping Leyla out of her predicament, it didn't take long for him to fall for the girl, though at first he kept it hidden. He was fourteen when he met her, and within a month, he had fallen in love. A month later, he had admitted it. They continued dating for four years until separation and stress in the Titans North finally broke them up. A deal with The Devil In 2009, Spades had been testing his might with magick. He had been attempting new spells and going to new lengths for power. Somewhere along the way, he met a man calling himself Samuel, who, after some conversation, revealed himself to be the infamous Lucifer Morningstar who once ruled Hell. After some odd jobs, and one final contract, Lucifer explained to Spades that he didn't want the responsibility of looking over Hell anymore, and instead gave Spades the crown after they agreed upon it. Now, Spades has an infinite library of knowledge and several inherent spells such as summoning demons or bringing himself or others back from the dead. With these new powers, he set out to exploit the full potential of his abilities for the good of mankind. Despite his heroism, as Lucifer once said to Spades, "Ironic. Big superhero like you controls the darkest pits of Hell. You're not evil though. Or at least, you're not evil yet. I like that. People think of Hell as an evil place. You don't, and neither do I. Why do you think the sinners go down there? It's prison and punishment. I'm not roasting puppies and babies down there, am I?" Titans North Spades eventually began to construct Titans North in Boston after making an arrangement with the Mayor and the bankrupted owners of the former John Hancock Tower. The tower is currently complete on the outside, but the interior is still under construction. It's being built to withstand super villain attacks, which the original building was not meant to do, obviously. In addition, the top floors have been widened (giving the tower its T-shape) to accommodate possible future expansion. He hopes to have it finished by mid-2010. Titans North also has a website at TitansNorth.webs.com which includes a (currently small) members list, though much of the website still needs work. Spades founded Titans North in March of 2009 when the deed to the tower was given to him, and later the building underwent a retrofit that started in July. The exterior is complete, but the interior is still under extensive construction and renovations. The building used to be an insurance company (how ironic). The tower was expected to be finished by June of 2010, but unexpected events have put the construction on an indefinite hold. Spades is the leader of the Titans North team and works in cooperation with the Boston Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police to capture super villains and attract heroes to their cause. Trigon's Curse It was discovered in late 2009 that Spades is in fact a lost brother of Rachel Roth who was kidnapped at birth and hidden from Trigon. Just after he was born, the true mother of Spades—whose identity remains up to speculation—escaped from Trigon and went to Stoneham, Massachusetts. This woman somehow managed to come in contact with Lenore Neil, who would later be called 'Nana' and play the role of a grandmother for Spades as a young child. Lenore carried the secrets of that day to her deathbed, but it has been speculated that Spades was given to Ronald; Lenore's son. Allegedly, Ronald convinced his wife Julie to adopt the young child, but it was decided that they never reveal the true nature of his origins in an attempt to hide his powers even from himself. Many years later, after Lenore's tragic death in a plane accident, followed by the death of his foster family a few weeks later in a house fire, Spades crossed paths with Rachel Roth—also known as 'Raven'. Easily able to sense his unusual aura, she grew suspicious of Spades. She was later convinced that Spades in fact was an innocent victim much like she once was in the claws of her father Trigon, but this didn't eliminate the fact that Spades shared a destiny she once did as well. The difference between them was that Spades had no formal training with his powers, causing his potential to be a far greater threat than Raven ever was. Disappearance As of August 16th of 2010, Spades left the Titans North. Officially, he is still a member and its leader, but he has been missing for over several months. He has been reportedly spotted in Jump City with Starfire, as well as with Terra. Allegedly, Spades is attempting to return to school and gain a college degree. If rumor is correct, his homelessness as well as his heroic services has landed him scholarships and grants from the government and a few small organizations. It's enough to at least cover his first year of college including fees and books. Traits and Powers Abilities / Strengths * Aerokinesis - Ability to bend and manipulate air, or for generating wind. Strong emotions fuel this ability's strength. This ability is sometimes difficult to control however. See Uncontrolled Storms for more information. * Pyrokinesis - Ability to manipulate flame. Not to produce it. In order for him to bend fire without a source to derive it from, it requires a short spell. See Spells and Rituals for more information. * Fireball - Combination of Aerokinesis and Pyrokinesis to create an explosive fireball of varying strength that detonates on impact with a powerful air-burst. * Third Eye - Allows him to sense the auras of life forms and spirits, both the color of them and how much energy they are radiating. Color represents personality and favorite colors, usually (black and white are not colors, so they don't count) and the amount of energy representing their emotion and mood. He can see through some thin solid objects, but he's still working on seeing at a distance. Large groups of people with a lot of energy will overload and harm him if he tries using this ability in such situations. Requires meditation to work best. The removable red gem on his forehead amplifies this ability. * Hell's Gates - Spades can enter and exit the realm of Hell at his will, and even bring people to and from Hell as well (although resurrection is another story). This is one of the perks that being the newest ruler of Hell has. He can also use this to travel between different parts of the world in significantly less time, although it is not to be confused with teleportation. Spades must perform a ritual to leave either world, or to take anyone with him. * Infernal Army - When opening a portal to hell, Spades has the option to summon a number of demons to create a group of his own personal warriors. When demons are summoned, he can keep them on this realm so long as he is able to maintain control over them all. However, the gateway can only be so strong. Puny, smaller, dumber demons are easier to summon, so Spades can summon dozens of them at a time and use swarm tactics. On the other hand, the big, strong, intelligent ones costs more power when it walks through the gates, so Spades can only summon one or two at a time. So long as Spades stays within this safety margin, he can have any range between power and numbers in his minions. * Three Greater Magicks - The third section (Book of Belial) in the Satanic Bible details the three greater magicks used by the Satanic magician. These magicks are Lust, Compassion, and Destruction. Spades is capable of performing rituals for all three (though his specialties lie in Compassion and Destruction). Spades performs such rituals usually on his own, but as a result, it is rare that his abilities reach their full potential, even when Spades exerts very great amounts of energy. * Mark of the Devil - It is unknown where these markings originated from, nor has their purpose been explained, but Spades occasionally lights up with similar markings as Raven whenever he unleashes a massive level of energy. The markings are similar, though not exact, to those which the daughter of Trigon carries. The ones on Spades are written in the same language, but with a different message. Spades may have obtained these marks as a side effect of becoming the new ruler of Hell, but he may also have had these markings all his life. Spades has yet to determine what the markings translate to. He has not yet been able to record what is written because of how rarely they appear. * Reborn of Flame ''' - When killed, Spades now has the ability to revive himself within one hour of his death on any realm besides the infernal pits of Hell. If slain upon any other plane of existence, Spades's spirit shall quickly relocate to Hell where he reappears on his throne, usually in quite a bit of pain, but he can bring himself back on an hour. Spades can also use this ability on others when necessary. However, it does not guarantee survival. There is more than one "heaven" and "hell" for every faith. If you do not go to his, then it may take longer for Spades to negotiate a release. Spades is not the supreme ruler of the underworld. He is just one of many. Running Hell is like running a country. * '''Dragon's Soul - Spades possesses a demonic side named Avro. He can willingly use this demonic, dragonic side of himself to his advantage. He's known of Avro's existence since he was young, but hasn't truly utilized him until recently. Avro is loyal to Spades however, unlike most demons are to their counterparts. Avro feels he is strongest if they work together. * Dragon's Heart - Avro neutralizes emotions all all kinds to keep Spades perfectly calm. Sometimes, this makes Spades act coldly toward others, uncaring, but the main goal of this is to make him able to see perfectly clear from all perspectives of a situation without being clouded by emotions. * Dragon's Voice - Avro is allowed to take over his voice and speak freely until Spades wants control again. Most commonly used for intimidation. * Dragon's Arm - Avro is allowed to take control of his body's actions until Spades wants control again. Most commonly used when he is faced with a challenge requiring more strength than he normally has, or when he needs to escape from the world on occasions of great despair or anger. * Dragon's Rage - Avro is allowed full control of Spades and his body, but only upon his command. This is the most dangerous and uncontrollable level of power since Spades no longer has a say in what Avro does. He can only watch, after willfully giving Avro total control of his body. Only Avro can decide when he wants to go back. He's only used this once before, against a girl who betray him a long while ago, an ex-girlfriend named Felicia. * Dragonic Curse / Destruction Ritual - Avro and Spades both concentrate their energy during a time of meditation to perform a destruction spell of varying levels against someone who has greatly angered them. The effects of the curse are never immediate, but they are nearly unavoidable except for another spellcaster who can defend themselves against this. However, Spades cannot use this power frequently. It does great damage to him mentally because of how poorly he controls his energy. This destruction spell is only used as a method of last resort vengeance. However, if he does cast the spell on you, he doesn't care if you're friend, family, or foe. However, Spades will never kill anyone with this power. It us unknown whether killing with magick is beyond his ability, beyond his willpower, or if he just prefers to watch his enemies suffer instead. * Fast Learner - Spades is still trying to learn new spells that are more useful to him, such as telekinesis. If you're a spell caster and you wanna roleplay, do try teaching him! Especially if you play Raven. :D Disadvantages / Weaknesses * Lack of Immortality - Spades is the youngest ruler of hell, and only the second mortal ever to be crowned a Demon Lord in any realm besides the Shivering Isles (realm of Madness) where Sheogorath resides, having once given up control to a young warrior in the past to break a curse upon himself. Consequently, because Spades is not immortal, he can be killed by a bullet or a sword just like any other human. It is unknown what will happen if someone kills him in Hell, although it's unlikely this is even possible. His level of respect has earned the loyalty of his citizens, especially since he's taking over for the cowardly demon Azazel who was the previous ruler, and was killed. * Blinded by Rage - Although Spades is very patient, if someone does manage to trigger one of a few sore spots within Spades, he'll let Avro take control out of pure rage. However, his demonic side will suffer the same anger and both of them will act very foolishly, easily opening themselves up for attack and retaliation. Spades tries to control his temper. * Uncontrolled Storms - Spades does not have full control over his Aerokinesis ability. Imagine it as a ripple effect in water. It's easy to start, but once you churn the water too much, it doesn't calm down instantly. If Spades starts a storm with his powers, Spades has a lot of difficulty trying to stop it. Countering the storm with opposing winds sometimes works, similar to pushing your hand against a wave in a tub of water to cancel it out, but this is a great risk if the two forces are too strong. In theory, Spades could potentially make an even worse storm such as a tornado. However, Spades has yet to achieve such a feat. * Magick can defeat Magick - Spades verses another spellcaster, they'd probably be evenly matched. Spades is only as good as the powers he's learned. If another magician can defeat him in battle, who knows what they would do to his body or spirit. Spades's greatest fear is his spirit being captured and harnessed somehow, or even just being held prisoner by his adversary. Spades would have no way to revive himself from Hell if he doesn't even make it there! * Stressful Interference - Spades's magick only works well when his mind is clear of stress, unless stress is purposely involved in the spellcasting. Most of the time however, when put under stressful situations mentally, or overuse of his powers, his abilities will begin to break down. Eventually, he'll be no stronger than any regular human would be, or basically exactly how Spades would be without any magick abilities. * Overwhelming Energy - This is similar to being overly stressed, but different in key ways. This happens when Spades is overstimulated with spiritual energy and he starts to lose his hold on all of his abilities. This can happen when he is thrown into a rage for example. If this happens, Spades will become a massive threat, not only his enemies, but his allies, and even himself are all in danger! Although his abilities are all powered to unbelievable levels for a mortal magician, it is at the expense of extreme weakness afterwards. Spades will likely pass out after such great exertion, thus leaving him totally helpless to the attack of any enemy combatants who may have survived. Spells, Incantations and Artifacts Spells and Rituals * Saaa-taaa Naaa-maaa - Satanic chant for calming one's self and concentrating energy for whatever spell he has in mind. * Incendia tentatio! - Summons a ball of flame which Spades can further manipulate to attack his enemies. He does not have to say these words to manipulate flame, but he does need it to light fire out of thin air. * Patefacio prolixus porta of abyssus! - Latin spell which roughly translates to English, "Open wide, the gates of Hell!" It is the spell used to create a portal from Earth to Hell whenever he wills it. He seems to favor conjuration to assist him in battle. * Other Satanic Magick - Lust, Compassion, and Destruction rituals are at his command for various purposes. * Azarath Metrion Zinthos - TOTALLY doesn't work for Spades! ...Well, not yet. Rather, because of his usually free and powerful emotion, things tend to BLOW UP when he tries this spell. He needs a proper teacher like Raven to help him perform this spell properly. * Necronom Hezberek Mortix - A form of wild, uncontrollable, but incredibly powerful dark magic supposedly known by a dragon named Malchior. When cast upon enemies, if unprotected, their bodies will be ripped apart, armor and weapons will be broken, and Spades will be temporarily forced into a hybrid form between himself and Avro until the victim is either dead or they manage to escape somehow. It is believed that this is due to the dragonic origins of the spell that causes Spades to enter this unusual state. However, this spell completely drains Spades of energy if it is successful, preventing him from casting any spells afterward until he cures the side effects. Otherwise, his abilities are stunted due to a temporary curse it causes. He doesn't want to risk using this ability except as a last resort. His fear is that there are more than likely a number of spells that can counter this one. If Spades fails his attack, he'll be totally helpless afterwards to any further attacks if his opponent either survives, or has allies. Items and Artifacts * Satanic Bible * Dragon Skull cane ** A rapier is concealed within the cane * Commentaries on the Book of Azar, Vol 1 * Infernal Library * Satan's Crown * Mysterium Tremendum * Various mini dragon statues * The Original Necronomicon (though he hasn't read it yet) * The Devil's agenda book * A metal ring that says, "What would I do without you?" Beast Girl owns a female-sized version of the ring. Sources * Wikipedia * Titans North Members Database * Spades Neil's MySpace * FanFiction.net/~SpadesNeil * The creative mind of Jeremy Neil. Contacts * AIM: Spades Neil * YIM: spades_neil * Meebo: Spades_Neil * MSN: phantom_one@comcast.net * Gmail: jeremy.spades.neil@gmail.com * MySpace: MySpace.com/Spades_Neil Notes Character is not to be confused with the Ace of Spades who, although played by the same person, has nothing to do with the Teen Titans universe. Trivia * Spades is a Satanist, and even his player is a follower of the real life Satanism, which is a religion founded by Anton LaVey advocating self-empowerment and healthy indulgence. Spades gets rather touchy when people refer to it as a cult however, as does his real life player. He has studied cults in the past, and the first and most ironic difference Satanism has from a cult, is that Satanism actually has almost no organized structure as it is. In other words, no churches, no meetings, and all choices made are the choice of only the person making them. There is no worship to any god or demon, only self-worship. * Satanism in Spades's fictional world is not like its real-world counterpart. I should put that out there just so everyone is clear on that. :P Essentially, all the spells and rituals in real-life Satanism are merely a form of meditation and serve no actual supernatural purpose. Of course, in the fictional world, it wouldn't be very exciting not to have magick powers! * Before Spades was called what he is today, he too was called Ace of Spades, or even before that, he was known as Gemini, especially by the people of Atlantis who he visited in his youth. He met Aqualad while there, but only as an acquaintance. * Spades was actually not created with the intention of becoming Raven's sister, but that's just how things played out in roleplay. * A lot of Spades's past is based on real life experiences from his player. Most of his early history actually happened. The place where things stray from reality is when his parents died. In real life, Jeremy's parents are alive and well. * Spades Neil is copyright Aces Productions which is owned by me, and using his character without prior permission from me in any form what so ever is prohibited. Limited exceptions. And if a comic book writer picks up on the idea of using my character... at least give me a heads up first. >_> I'll probably say yes. It'd be awesome to see me in a comic! :D * Magick is an Early Modern English spelling for magic, used in works such as the 1651 translation of De Occulta Philosophia, Three Books of Occult Philosophy, or Of Magick. The British occultist Aleister Crowley, chose the spelling to differentiate the occult from stage magic and defined it as "the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will", including both "mundane" acts of will as well as ritual magic. Category:Characters Category:Male